Just keep swimming
by Charlotte Alexandra Callaghan
Summary: We know that demigods have special skills that mortals wish they could possess. But what about regular skills like driving or swimming? Rated for mild language *swimming tips are true! try them sometime!*


Jason Grace was confused. He had been "kidnapped" from camp and blindfolded by his friend Percy before being helped into Percy's car and driven to a secret location. Jason trusted Percy but not being able to see what the son of Poseidon's plan was felt a little disconcerting. Percy was doing a surprisingly good job about not revealing his secret destination. Chiron had given them permission to leave camp so Jason wasn't too concerned. Jason hoped that his t-shirt and jeans would provide enough coverage for wherever they were going. He also made sure that he had his sword safely tucked in his pocket.

"Why can't you tell me where we're going?" he asked, sulking underneath his blindfold. Percy had placed his Imperial Gold glasses over the black fabric. "Then it wouldn't be a secret now, would it?" Percy smirked, "besides, don't you trust me?"

"In a battle, yes. With a prank, maybe. Blindfolding and kidnapping me when I was supposed to spend the afternoon with Piper, not funny bro."

"Relax, besides we're here and you can take off the blindfold." Jason removed his glasses before untying the cloth. "Why would you bring me to the Manhattan YMCA?" he demanded, looking around for Percy. The black-haired demigod was pulling two duffel bags out of the trunk of the Prius. "Because they have a three hour open pool and I'm gonna teach you how to swim." Percy waited for a count of three before Jason spoke again. "Percy, may I remind you that me going in the pool would be like you going in a plane?"

"Actually, Poseidon is the god of the oceans–"

"Water"

"Whatever. The point is swimming is an essential life skill for mortals and demigods. And wouldn't you rather learn in a pool than in the ocean?"

"Why the hell should I learn how to swim?"

"For when you're on a romantic canoe ride and the boat capsizes. Don't you think it would be better for you to be able to swim to shore than for Piper to have to drag you there? Life jackets provide no propulsion. Also, as pontifex maximus you might have to supervise underwater construction." Jason knew he wasn't going to win that debate. "What's in the bags?"

"Bathing suits, towels, goggles, glasses case for you, and shampoo and soap."

"Where did you get a bathing suit for me?"

"It's one of Paul's. You're about the same size. Shall we? We just have to pay five bucks each to get in. This is where Estelle comes for her lessons since we don't have a pool in the apartment despite my constant pleas."

"Fine, let's just get this over with."

"Nice attitude."

* * *

They entered the building and paid the receptionist before heading into the locker room. Jason set his locker combination to his birthday: 0701. After they changed into their trunks, Percy led Jason onto the pool deck. Jason studied the large, loud room. He was relieved to note that there were four lifeguards on duty as well as a couple of shelves of life jackets. The boys tossed their towels into a cubby on the wall near the showers. Jason saw that the deep end was twelve feet deep while the shallow end was only three feet deep. He didn't even want to think about the diving board and blocks. Jason started to walk towards the life jackets but Percy stopped him. "Those are for the little kids. You don't need one and they wouldn't fit you anyway."

Blushing, Jason turned away. "Alright," Percy began, "do you want to get in via the stairs or sit and slide in off the side. We're gonna stay in the shallow end for now."

"Thank the gods. The stairs." The water wasn't as cold as Jason had thought it was going to be but it was still chilly. He stood shivering in waist deep water as Percy adjusted his goggles and ducked under the water. Percy had already explained to Jason that he would be pretending to be a normal mortal and therefore would not be using any of his, as Leo called them, Aquaman powers. "First things first, you gotta get completely wet. And before you ask why, it's so you stop shivering like you just got blasted by Khione."

Percy helped Jason adjust the strap on his goggles so the lenses created suction around his eyes. Jason pinched his nose with his thumb and index finger and tried to pretend he was in the baths in New Rome. The baths in New Rome smelled a lot better than a public swimming pool.

As soon as he resurfaced, Jason realized Percy had started lecturing him. "You don't hold your nose, you blow bubbles! If you hold your breath you'll sink and get cramps."

"How the heck am I supposed to do that underwater without a straw?" Jason was used to blowing huge bubbles in his beverages with straws. He, Percy, Leo, and Frank often had competitions on the Argo II to see who could make the biggest bubbles without overflowing the cup. The girls (and Nico) had called them immature toddlers.

"Pretend you're blowing out candles. Here practice above water. Just blow air. And don't worry about drowning. That lifeguard over there with the purple headband, her name is Lauren and she's a legacy of Demeter and Estelle's teacher. She knows I'm a son of Poseidon and that you're a son of Jupiter so she'll look the other way with us. Oh, and she'll come help us when her shift is done. Now blow bubbles." They practiced blowing bubbles underwater for a little while.

"Okay, next step is looking straight down while you're underwater. It helps keep the water out of your nose while you push air out of your mouth. So we're gonna try dead man's float."

"Excuse me."

"It's the actual name of the float! You float on your stomach with your arms and legs… you know what? Let's try back float first. Lie on your back, I'll help you. Spread your arms and legs away from each other. Bend your knees slightly. Stop moving so much. Breathe Jason! Your face is above water. Chin up. I said up! Relax, you're in three feet of water. I wish I could charmspeak. Try pretending you're lying on a bed." It was true, Jason was very tense and it was causing him to sink which caused Jason to panic and move more which made him sink even more.

Jason tried to do as Percy said and relax. He imagined lying on his bunk in Cabin One, avoiding the stares of Hippie Zeus. Jason felt so calm he didn't even feel Percy moving his hands away. "Ta-da," Percy said. Percy's voice brought Jason back to the pool. He tried to sit up and almost went back under. Jason glared at Percy and Percy ignored the look.

"Now we're gonna do dead man's float. It's the same thing except on your front. Make sure you look straight down and blow bubbles. Put your goggles on."

Percy made Jason practice both floats for a half hour. When Percy was satisfied that Jason could float on his own, they moved to strokes. "The most basic stroke is the doggy paddle but that's not a real stroke," Percy explained. "We're gonna start with freestyle. It's the one most people think of when they think of swimming. When you swim, no matter the stroke, your legs are your main propulsion. Arms are for steering, balance, and extra power. That's why they invented kickboards and barbells." Percy grabbed a kickboard and demonstrated. Make sure your legs are straight and your toes are pointed. It makes you aerodynamic."

"Technically we're not in the air."

"Technically I don't care. Now kick," Percy shoved the kickboard at him. Jason's initial kicks were wild and created quite a splash zone. He didn't seem to be going anywhere. "I think I'm stuck."

"That's because your kicks are too big. Remember, less is more. Kick from your hips, not your knees. Also, make sure you're looking down and blowing bubbles like when you're floating."

"After we're done here, you're getting in a plane."

"Actually Zeus specifically told me if I got in a plane, I wouldn't get off. Poseidon never said anything to you about swimming. Start kicking." Jason tried to do smaller kicks from his hips while looking straight down. It worked! "Are we done?" he asked hopefully. "Nope, time to add arms," Percy answered. "After freestyle we're gonna do elementary backstroke and treading water. Those are safety skills so we won't skip them. Everything else is extra."

It turned out that Jason wasn't as bad as he feared he would be. The biggest concern had been making a fool out of himself in front of little kids. As they were finishing up with freestyle, Percy's friend Lauren joined them.

She taught Jason how to do elementary backstroke: crumpling up the body like crouching down, then straightening out like a starfish, then snapping the arms and legs to the body like a pencil. "The important thing is to remember to keep your chin up so you stay up and remembering to breathe. The last motion is the propulsion."

"How is this a safety skill?" Jason wanted to know. "Your body is not twisting as much as it would for simple or USA backstroke. It's also harder to go too fast so elementary backstroke forces you to go slow. Slow and steady, like the turtle." Jason hadn't been a big fan of turtles since Scion the bandit had tried to feed him to a giant turtle but he didn't mention this to Lauren. They made Jason practice for what felt like forever but only turned out to be fifteen minutes. He kept staying in the first position too long which caused him to sink. Finally they moved on to treading water which Percy said would be the last thing.

Treading water was tiring. Jason had never really ridden a bicycle so Lauren's explanation of what to do with his legs wasn't very helpful. The fact that Jason's feet kept hitting the floor wasn't contributing to success. Lauren suggested they move to where the pool depth was four feet which was immediately shot down. Jason also couldn't quite get the hang of moving his arms back and forth and Percy telling him to, "Pet the cat, pet the cat," was getting them nowhere.

Jason was getting really frustrated. He just wanted to get out of the pool, shower, go back to camp, find Piper, and spend the rest of the day cuddling in Cabin One. The clock above the window told him that there were fifteen minutes left in open swim. Jason told himself that if he could survive Lupa's trials, a few wars, being slapped back to Long Island in the Argo II, as well as Leo's cooking, he could survive fifteen more minutes in a pool.

"Jason, why did you stop?" Percy's voice brought him back. Oh right, treading water.

Finally, finally, open swim was over. Percy and Jason thanked Lauren then hit the showers. As they were leaving the parking lot, Jason suggested, "Why don't we swing by LaGuardia Airport?"

"Because I've been in a few planes and I have a date." Jason scowled.

At the top of Half Blood Hill, they were greeted by Nico, Will, Piper, Mitchell, and Malcolm. Piper grinned at Jason, "I see you're in one piece and don't have any trident wounds. I take it you survived?" Jason didn't bother answering.

"Are you gonna take Nico swimming?" Jason asked Percy. Nico smirked, "I already know how to swim, my mother taught me." Malcolm told Percy that Annabeth was in the stables and the two of them left with Mitchell. Piper slipped her hand into Jason's and they began walking towards the cabins. "I have an idea," Piper pulled Jason to a stop, "next time we go visit my dad, I can take you surfing!"

Jason just groaned as he buried his face in her shoulder as Piper laughed.


End file.
